More Customization for Beam Weapons

[QuakeIV]

I agree completely, let players decide the acceptable level of cost for a weapon (which dedices the size of their beams at a given tech level) and then tech just improves your ability to make any given weapon.

[Shuul]

As the one who does not use missile weapons in Aurora I would pretty much kill for better customization of energy weapons.

[Borealis4x (OP)]

I'm not trying to argue whether larger beam weapons are better than smaller beam weapons or vice-versa, just that more customizable beam weapons would be a good idea.

I like the idea of, instead of limiting by focal length, allowing any focal length and having an efficiency that gets better with tech.  In other words, at laser tech 1 you could have a 40 cm laser, but it would be a power hog and very large.  With better tech it would become more power and mass efficient, and have a better range, but you could still have a massive laser at lower tech levels, if that's what you wanted. 

Kurt

This is what I've been trying to say all along. Let the player make large and inefficient beam weapons with low tech just like they can make large and inefficient engines or sensors or missiles with low tech. And then let them make large, very efficient beam weapons with high tech...

[Father Tim]

I like the idea of, instead of limiting by focal length, allowing any focal length and having an efficiency that gets better with tech.  In other words, at laser tech 1 you could have a 40 cm laser, but it would be a power hog and very large.  With better tech it would become more power and mass efficient, and have a better range, but you could still have a massive laser at lower tech levels, if that's what you wanted. 

Yeah I think so too. Crude but huge low tech beam weapons would be cool, especially for stuff like railguns!

It would probably require a rework of most beam weapons though for consistency, and I think I would prefer to see any version of C# Aurora released before such a thing happens.

As one who bases almost all my Aurora ships off historical earth vessels, I usually just SM Mode give my conventional-start empire 20 cm tech so my initial steam powered (akak nuclear thermal) ironclad (aka duranium armour) frigate can have its historical smoothbore (focal length 1) muzzle loading (capacitor 1) 68-pounder (208 mm) guns.  I'd love it if sheer size was decoupled from capability and made a variable component for beam weapons, like launcher size for missiles is now.